Cycling to School

Fred Longworth High School is keen to encourage cycling and walking to school to promote healthy and environmentally friendly lifestyles and to help to reduce congestion at busy times before and after school. However cycling to school is potentially very dangerous and as a school we want to ensure that we are doing all that we can to promote safe cycling and to minimise the associated risks with cycling to school. We need the support of parents in implementing this policy; parents play a key role in ensuring that their sons and daughters cooperate with the school’s policy on cycling to school.

In order to minimise risks to our students we are introducing a ‘Cycle to School’ contract and in order for permission to cycle to school to be granted, parents and students must read and agree to the following:

Cycling to School Contract

All bicycles must be roadworthy and appropriate for the age of the student in terms of frame size and seat height. All bikes must have brakes that work safely.

Students must wear a helmet to cycle to and from school and this helmet must be visible to school staff when students enter the school site. The school will provide an area to store helmets during lesson times.

When students are on school site they must dismount their bike and walk the bike to the cycle storage areas.

Students will ensure that they provide a lock for their bike to be secured on school grounds in the bike storage areas.

During the winter months when cycling to and from school in the dark, parents will ensure that students wear reflective clothing and that all bikes have front and rear lights.

All students will cycle in a safe manner and take into account pedestrians and other school children.

All students will refrain from listening to music through earphones whilst cycling to school.

Students who are found to be cycling dangerously will be spoken to about their unsafe cycling and permission to cycle to school may be withdrawn.

The school will offer cycle safety courses for students free of charge to those who wish to take part. All students who cycle to school will be requested to take part in an age appropriate course unless they have already undertaken a suitable course at primary school.

Parents who need to discuss issues with cycling to school will contact the relevant Head of Year or Mr Whalley, Deputy Headteacher.

If you have not already signed and returned to school the ‘Cycling to School Contract’ you can download a PDF version here then print, read, sign and return it school.